Today's News

[andrewducker]

Interesting bits of the Queen's speech:
(from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7080446.stm)

Local Transport Bill
Would give local authorities "greater freedom and choice" to set their transport policies, including more "freedom and flexibility" to set up local road-pricing schemes. Applies to England and Wales, with some provisions extending to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Are they planning to bring in lots of road-pricing schemes, I wonder. Anyone know if they tend to be effective?

Pensions Bill
Would mean eligible workers are automatically enrolled into a pension scheme, with a minimum employer contribution introduced. Applies to England, Scotland and Wales.
Which will no doubt mean lots of work for me - but I do wonder if they can actually change people's mindset and make them actually interested in pensions. I'm not generally a huge believer in the efficacy of this approach, but I've heard good things about its use in Australia.

Planning Reform Bill
Calls for the establishment of a new separate planning system for major infrastructure projects and simplifying the planning system for minor home improvements. In many cases formal planning permission will no longer be required. Applies to England.
I'm hoping that this makes new wind farms and home turbines easier to get set up.

Energy Bill
This bill aims to provide greater incentives for renewable energy generation and to make it easier for private firms to invest in offshore gas supply infrastructure, in "carbon capture" research and provisions on nuclear waste and decommissioning financing. Applies to whole UK.
Yay!

Constitutional Renewal (draft) Bill
Promises to "rebalance power" between Parliament and the government and give MPs more clout to hold the government to account. Subject to more consultation, the bill will propose giving Parliament powers to ratify treaties and decide whether troops should be deployed. It will also incorporate the findings of the ongoing consultation on judicial appointments and the handling of protests in Parliament Square. Most of the bill applies to the whole UK.
And more Yay!

Also - turns out that if you have a particular gene then breastfeeding adds 7 points of IQ on: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7075511.stm

Oh, and according to The Metro the first offshore windfarm in Scotland has now started construction. Sixty wind turbines, 130m tall off of Dumfies. Enough power for 180,000 homes. Can't find a web source for that one though. Glad that they're finally getting their eco on.

Comments

[nuttyxander.livejournal.com]

That Local Transport Bill looks interesting, if it brings back more regulation into the hands of local authorities (fares, timetables, bus specs etc) then it would improve the experience of public transport that people most often have.

The rest seems less exciting, but this would be Labour undoing one of Thatchers worst ideas.

[communicator.livejournal.com]

Yes, I was youngster in the seventies and one of the main ways we were better off than our counterparts today is that with decent public transport you could go anywhere without adults, without having to be able to drive. It makes all of life completely different.

[andrewducker]

Edinburgh's transport system is fantastic for this - not only are there a huge number of buses throughout the day there are regular night buses as well. It's no wonder we have one of the lowest incidences of car usage up here.

[despotliz.livejournal.com]

There are proposals out there to introduce congestion charging in Cambridge, at least.

[robhu.livejournal.com]

The pensions bill is a fantastic idea which the government should have introduced long ago. It will provide a basic pension for everybody by default.

[drplokta]

Road pricing schemes do indeed tend to be effective, but bear in mind that the number of data points is quite small at present.

The pensions bill doesn't aim to make people interested in pensions, it aims to get them pensions even if they're not interested. You'll have to take some interest in order to not have a pension.

[andrewducker]

The pensions thing is true - but I worry that a lot of people will instantly opt out of it - or will do the absolute bare minimum.

[drplokta]

The bare minimum thing is the problem. I expect a lot of people will bumble along with the minimum employee and employer contributions, putting maybe a total of 8% of their salary into a pension, and think they've got it covered. Those people will get a rude surprise at retirement time.

[the-mendicant.livejournal.com]

I know all about breast feeding making your babies more intelligent (I have 2 genius level children and they were both fed for 8 months) it works by sucking your brain cells directly out of your head and into the baby. I remember one time while breast feeding when I got in the car and couldn't remember how to drive!

I do worry about anything that the Government says will simplify the planning system - it is generally a euphamism for them wanting to push major planning decisions through without adequate public consultation.

[autopope.livejournal.com]

The separate planning system is needed so that they can push through planning permission for the construction of new nuclear reactors in less than a decade. (Remember the Sizewell B inquiry? It was the second reactor they built on the same site, but the planning enquiry took 7 years and cost millions. If they're going to replace the Magnox base load by 2020, they really need to keep the planning enquiries to less than 12 months per reactor or we're all going to be having regular winter blackouts for a decade.)

The energy bill provisions on nuclear waste and decomissioning -- ditto. They need to get the nuclear fuel cycle nailed down so there's no ambiguity over who's liable for the costs before they can look for PFI funding of new build reactors (is my guess).

This is laying the groundwork for a new push for nuclear, as well as big renewable power projects such as the Severn Barrier. It suggests someone is awake at the helm and thinking in a time scale longer than the next election: which is good ...

[henriksdal.livejournal.com]

Wind turbines aren't without ecological impact, astonishingly..

[andrewducker]

Oh, absolutely. And we ought to be careful where they are sited. But when you compare the results of doing them versus the results of not doing them, the choice seems pretty clear to me.

[tisme.livejournal.com]

The pension bill comes as a huge relief for me. Automatic enrollment is absolutely necessary, *especially* because people don't have a clue/interest/motivation about pensions, but are going to wake up when they're 75 (estimated retiring age by the time we get there) and go "...shit".